Recession puts entrepreneurs on guard

Entrepreneurs are a trusting lot, but not as trusting as they used to be, according to three who spoke Tuesday at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich.

James Mosher

Entrepreneurs are a trusting lot, but not as trusting as they used to be.

The recession has had an effect on potential collaborators and clients that Maria Miranda, an advertising executive, likened to “comic book radiation” experienced by The Incredible Hulk and others.

“Some have gotten better from it while others have gotten worse,” said Miranda, founder of Miranda Creative Inc. in Norwich. She also is creative director of the firm, which employs 12.

Speaking during a “Lessons in Excellence” panel Tuesday at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, Miranda and two colleagues said entrepreneurs sometimes have to check their most generous impulses because of the need for self-protection.

“I still trust people, but I trust them more with contracts,” Miranda said

The impression of a legal department with teeth has become a near necessity, said Bill Guevremont, an executive at New York-based eGen LLC. Fellow panelist Brian Weinstein agreed.

“Your patents and your NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) are only as good as your ability to defend them,” said Weinstein, president of Chapco Inc. in Chester.

But even though conditions change regularly for entrepreneurs, time-tested virtues remain relevent.

“There will be days when you want to give up,” Weinstein said. “Be patient with the failures, because the successes are right around the corner.”